On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of
goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about
the goodies you received from your penpal!

The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items
or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also
include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining
what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

FoodiePenpals is
open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you
get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to
post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired
together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

Foodie Penpals is open to US & Canadian
residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other
Canadians only.

If you’re interested in participating for September, just CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, baking powder and salt together until well blended; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, pumpkin, eggs and vanilla on low speed until combined. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill each paper liner 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

To Make The Frosting

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until smooth. Add pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well. This frosting is very soft, so you may want to refrigerate it before you frost your cupcakes. After frosting, garnish cupcakes with mini chocolate chips if desired.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Moms everywhere (that would be ME) are counting down until the first day of school.
It's almost here...Wahoo!!

Let's take a break from Back to School shopping and celebrate, shall we?

I think this calls for chocolate. And nutella! I give you...

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream!

Here are the star ingredients in this recipe...

The coffee creamer adds a touch of hazelnut flavor to the chocolate cupcakes,

and makes them super moist and delicious.

The nutella makes the buttercream out of this world!

Seriously, you will be eating it right out of the bowl. With your fingers.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream

by Bird On A Cake

Yield: 30 cupcakes

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Ingredients

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

1 cup boiling water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup hazelnut coffee creamer

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Nutella Buttercream

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your muffin pans with paper liners. Bring some water to a boil and keep it simmering while you mix the other ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, hazelnut creamer, oil and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer until combined.

Add 1 cup of the boiling water and carefully stir until it is mixed in. Beat for 1 1/2 minutes with mixer. Pour batter into paper liners, filling each 2/3 full. Bake for 15-17 minutes (until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). Allow cupcakes to cool on a rack.

Nutella Buttercream

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter and Nutella on low speed. Alternately add sugar and cream; mix until fluffy. If not desired consistency, add more cream one tablespoon at a time. Keep covered.